Gaza Ceasefire 'Still Possible', Biden Says

US President Joe Biden (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden (Reuters)
TT

Gaza Ceasefire 'Still Possible', Biden Says

US President Joe Biden (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip would be “possible” before the end of his presidency.
“Yes. It’s still possible. The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, etc., is still viable,” the President said in an interview with CBS.
“And I’m working literally every single day — and my whole team — to see to it that it doesn’t escalate into a regional war. But it easily can,” Biden added.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington last month, Biden had urged him to accept a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
In the TV interview, which is the first since dropping out of the White House race, Biden warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump was “a genuine danger to American security.”
“Mark my words, if he wins... this election, watch what happens,” he said.
“He's a genuine danger to American security. Look, we're at an inflection point in world history... and democracy is the key.”
Biden’s pre-taped interview broadcasted on Sunday is also the first after his failing debate performance against Trump on 27 June, which underlined fears about his age and mental abilities.
“Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick. But I have no serious problem.”
On Saturday, a new poll by the New York Times and Siena College showed US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris taking the lead in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan – three key battleground states, which indicates that the former president has lost the lead he had built in these states over the past year.
Harris is ahead of Trump by four percentage points in those three states, 50% to 46% among likely voters in each state, according to the surveys conducted from August 5-9.

 



India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.